drbart Loc: New York, NY

Gene51,

I must disagree 100% about your views of parts of NYC. Being a "Melting Pot" is a good thing!! Children can
grow up and get exposed to all types of people. These neighborhoods you mention may have some lower
income residents; but not at all bad or dangerous. You have a very prejudice view of people which is unfortunate!
Being born in the Bronx and after becoming an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon I opened my practice in the
South Bronx and treated patient's for 38 years. I can personally say most of the patient's that were treated by me and my staff were very nice and pleasant. I'm retired now and miss the days of helping people and would never
want to go to work anywhere else.There are "bad" and dangerous people everywhere, and many others that like to
spread un-true facts about people they never met!!

drbart Loc: New York, NY

Dear Gene51,

My response to you was in reference to I believe Traderjohn's reply to stay away from "Hoods" like "Harlem"
and the "South Bronx" and others or you will be in big trouble-some remark like that; totally un-true and
one sided.

Thank you and again enjoy your trip to NYC.

Best,
Bart

togajim

Go to South Street seaport before sunrise, catch the Brooklyn bridge at sunrise
9/11 memorial site
McSorley's Ale House
GWB, walk or ride a bike across it to NJ
The Cloisters
Inwood Hill park, Straus mansion ruins, park lookout

GAW57 Loc: Central New Jersey

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GAW57 Loc: Central New Jersey

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

There is a TV show called $9.99. It explores cheap things to do in NYC.
I remember one show about Red Hook but I don't remember but waterfront always make good photo ops

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Myself- Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn New York. Not exactly the garden spot of the world but there were some great hard-workg people there. There were periods where the neighbourhood was in transition and those were tough times but folks formed neighbourhood and block associations and managed to preserve life and culture. There we street gangs, riots and some burned-out buildings but for the most part, people came out on the other side, became educated, and worked hard.

As a "rookie" pro-photographer, my boss sent me out on modest weddings (not the rich folks.) I worked in Bet-Sty, Brownsville, Williamsburg, East New Yor, The Lower East Side, South Bronx, and Harlem. This was an education in itself. I learned many languages, cultures, and traditions and a whole lot of street sociology. I always well received in homes and churches and folks appreciated my hard work. I lived and worked in the "hoods" up until my military service. I spent a couple of years in Viet Nam and gained quite a different perspective of what a bad and hostile neighbourhood is really like.

OK, enough biography- back to photography.

Everyone has made good suggestions and advised on good vantage points for the "picture postcard" views of New York City and that's good. For some REALLY interesting photo-ops, it would be good to visit the Boroughs and shoot the actual uniqueness of the city. The Brooklyn Brownstone houses have some of the most elaborate stone masonry and ironwork framed in tree-line streets. Some neighbourhoods still have the original lamp posts and fire alarm boxes on street corners. There are incredible industrial installations all over the city and some amazing graffiti both is artistic content and sheer volume! For wildlife shooters- just go the East River, on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge, or visit "Hook Creek" and see the world's largest urban rats! The entire city is a "street" photographer's paradise. You would need to move in for a couple of years to capture a fraction of it. If you have "people skills" there are lots of people to photograph! If you are not graveyards- travel the Interborough Parkway (between Brookly and Queens) and see what may be the world's largest Cemetary including a very pretty military section!

It's a city of contrasts. You can have "Breakfast at Tiffanies", well- at least on stylish 5th Avenue and lunch for a street vendor in the South Bronx and it's all in a rather short subway ride apart!

PS- Bet-Sty is up and coming! The realtors now call it "Stuyvesant Heights" and there are new condos, beautiful renovated Brownstones renting for $2,500 on average. According to the department of buildings my old family Brownstone, once up for condemnation and demolition but was eventually renovated and just sold for a bit under $3-million!

PPS: drbart- Thanks for your care for your community! Back in the day, our family doc and I had adjacent backyards he was always available for office visits and house calls. As the neighbourhood changed, all the GPs either retired or moved elsewhere. Our family dentist moved o Riverdale and I had to treck across the enter city to get a filling or a cleaning. By the time I came home for the service, there were no private health practitioners in the entire district.

Happy trails!

Markcody

The three downtown bridges are the Brooklyn,Manhattan, andWilliamsburg.Easyto remember bythe carmaker BMW.Also the Koskiosko Bridge is brand new and offers great views of the skyline. On the Broomlyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge there is a pair at Camden place.Terrific views of downtown and the Brooklym Bridge. IF you want a rooftop view go to the top of the Rock. Most people go to the top of the empire state , but then it's not in your shot.The Circle line cruise gets you on the water .The north end of Central Park is beautiful and the hole city offers so much. Have a great time,Mark

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I grew up in The South Bronx. 138th. St. Prove me wrong walk down any of those neighborhoods with a camera and related equipment. See if you make it to the end of the day. It is what it is not what you want to think it is.

Markcody

I never sent him to the south Bronx. He was asking about down town Manhattan.I have walked all over the oeir under the Brooklyn Bridge on both ends with camera gear and never had a problem.TheSouth Bronx except for Yankee Stadium and Arthur Avenue are not places I would go as a tourist.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

To all NYC natives, have you seen the city in the last 18 months?

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Your Bed-Sty and my South Bronx are long gone. The city tore down the tenement apartments I grew up in and build a slum. The projects.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Arthur Ave is still pretty safe. They take care of business.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

The Projects- well folks who don't know about the "projects"- compliments of the New York City Housing Authority, would no believe the conditions in some of them. Here is a little education for the uninformed:

https://unitedgangs.com/2017/08/02/10-most-dangerous-housing-projects-in-brooklyn-new-york/

https://unitedgangs.com/2017/11/21/10-most-dangerous-housing-projects-in-the-bronx-new-york/

Even back in my day, there was knocking down the tenements and old brownstones and building high-rise rat holes.

The Sumner Houses were 1/2 bloc from my family home on Vernon Avene in Bet-Sty. Sumner Avenue is now renamed Marcus Garvey Boulevard. We use to call that project "Sodom and Gomorrah". My Grandparents lived in the Brownsvill (Linden) Project after their quite decent apartment building was expropriated by the city. My cousins grew up in the FDR Houses on the Lower East Side. I know about the projects!

In the Sumner Houses, the garbage shoots and the incinerators were out of order so folks jimmied open the elevator doors and tossed their garbage down the elevator shafts. The beat cops from the 79th Pct. carried pellet guns to shoot the rats. Even back in the day, the projects had their own police department. There were gang activities, muggings, stabbings, gun violence, fires suicides on a regular basis.

Thing was, there were good people in there too. There were low and middle-income projects and where rents were based on earnings. The good folks in someof these buildings work hard and their only "crime" is they don't earn enough money to provide their families with decent housing.

When I suggested that folks visit the boroughs, I did do not expect that they will be patrolling the projects in the middle of the night. Rough stuff!

k2edm Loc: FN32AD

well, I dont know about the NYC projects, but in the early 60's Fred (W2SEU) and & I had a TV repair business in Freeport, NY. Freeport had projects on Albany & Buffalo avenues in Freeport and to this day I remember the filth (urine smell) in the halls and elevators.... some places you didnt even want to put the tube caddy down.. That kinda made up my mind about welfare though...